It was so cold in Abhu village. Cries were heard at every angle as military soldiers killed every child who was born from a teenager, or if the children were more than one.
In an isolated room with no roof, filled with water from the floods that occurred in the village, sat a young eighteen-year-old mother who was in active labor and in pain. Her name was Nina. She held on to her sister with so much desperation because she couldn't bear the pain of giving birth.
"You have to push through, Nina. Come on," Amira, Nina's sister, said.
"I can't do this anymore. I am tired," Nina replied, crying in pain.
The water in the room kept rising, filled with dirty sewage and body parts of people who died in the war. Nina and Amira couldn't handle seeing it because they knew that it could be their friends and family who died in the war.
Amira looked at Nina, who started to get emotional after seeing the bodies.
"Come on, let's go to one of the huts at the riverside. They are on higher land, so there won't be much water," Amira said.
Amira was a young educated woman who had always wished to become a nurse, but she grew up in a village where there were no opportunities.
Nina, on the other hand, was a young eighteen-year-old who got pregnant by a military soldier who raped her during the war happening in their village. At a very young age, Nina had taken care of Amira like a parent after their parents were killed, leaving Amira only two years old.
Amira held Nina, who was moaning and groaning in pain, and placed her in a broken wooden wheelbarrow. The rain was heavy, and gunshots were heard everywhere. Dead bodies lay around like it was normal to kill people. Amira struggled to push Nina through the slippery roads, but she had to do it because if the soldiers found them, they would die.
"Come on, sit here," Amira said as they entered the hut on higher ground near the river.
At that time, Nina was in so much pain because her labor had reached its peak. She groaned and moaned in so much pain but she couldn't shout.
An old woman passing near the river, waiting for rescue, heard screams coming from the hut. She quickly went to check, thinking it was a child looking for their parents.
"Sister, I know you are in pain, but you need to stop screaming or the soldiers will come and kill us," Amira said worriedly.
"I can't do it… I can't, my love," Nina replied, crying like she was walking on hot stones.
"You have to, sister. I can't leave without you," Amira said, crying.
The old woman entered the hut and found Nina lying on a dirty rug, bleeding and in pain, while Amira held her hand, telling her to be strong.
"Come on, grab her legs and spread them apart," the old woman said as she hurriedly ripped a piece of her cloth.
"Okay," Amira answered anxiously.
Amira held Nina's legs while the old woman supported her, telling her to push. After three pushes, two beautiful lives were born.
"They are so beautiful… oh my," Amira said as she looked at the two babies lying on the rug.
"Are they both girls?" Nina asked.
"No, it's a boy and a girl," the old woman replied, smiling softly.
Nina was so happy to finally hear that, but before she could even hold them, soldiers started shooting at the huts on the highland. Screams of families hiding were heard.
"Oh no… they are going to kill my babies.
What should I do?" Nina cried in fear.
"You can't stay with them here," the old woman said. "They killed my daughter's children with no mercy. They won't spare yours."
"But what can we do?" Amira asked, holding the crying babies. "They'll hear them."
"No… I can't let my babies die the way my parents did. I can't."
Suddenly, the sound of a ship was heard. It was called the LIFE OF THE RICHES TRADING SHIP—a ship where rich traders came to nearby villages to buy goods in struggling villages.
"What if… what if…" Nina stammered, her voice shaking. "Let's go to the shore and put the twins on the ship. Maybe someone will find them."
"But what if they don't?" Amira cried.
"I can't let them die in front of me, Amira. I can't," Nina broke down.
"We can all go with the ship if we sneak in. Maybe we can hide in the fish boxes."
A gunshot rang out, followed by screams of people in pain.
"It won't be long before they come here. We need to go now," the old woman said.
The soldiers started shooting towards the hut. They all bent down. Amira covered the babies with the dirty rug. When the shooting stopped, the old woman lifted Nina and placed her back into the wheelbarrow because she couldn't walk after giving birth.
"Be strong. Don't cry," the old woman whispered.
They quietly left the hut and moved through the heavy rain towards the shore. The road was filled with dead bodies and the smell of decay was everywhere.
"Hurry, let's hide behind that tree," Amira said as she saw two soldiers checking the hut they had just left. She rocked the babies gently so they wouldn't cry.
"I found blood in that hut," one soldier said.
"Did you find a body?" the other asked.
"No. But it looks like a woman who gave birth. Like the one we found earlier," he replied.
"Let's find them. They can't be far."
The soldiers began searching.
"Let's go now," the old woman whispered.
Amira hurried forward with the babies, while the old woman pushed Nina with all her strength.
The ship was parked at the south side of the sea near a village that was close to abhu village called maul. The war had just finished in maul village.
They reached the shore. The ship was surrounded by guards, while rich people bought goods from villagers.
"How do we get in?" Amira asked.
Before Nina could answer, soldiers began shooting at the shore. Blood splashed everywhere.
The ship began to move.
"Oh no, it's leaving," Amira cried.
Nina looked around and saw two wooden containers used to store fish.
"Amira… bring those," she said weakly.
The old woman grabbed them quickly.
Nina tore part of her cloth and placed it inside. Amira gently placed the babies into the containers.
Nina picked up a sharp stone and cut both babies—one on the back, one on the shoulder.
"If you survive… you will find each other," she whispered.
The babies cried weakly.
"Take them… put them on the ship," Nina cried. "They can't die here."
The old woman and Amira ran and placed the babies in the large fish crates on the ship. Before they could do anything else, soldiers caught them and dragged them away.
The ship sailed off into the darkness. The soldiers took all three them and raped them on the sand.
Nina lay weak on the sand, crying—not because of the pain of being raped with birth tears, but because she might never see her babies again.
"I didn't even get to hold them," she whispered to herself.
She cried bitterly, she had been through hell all her life but that pain… was worse than anything else.